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CD4+ T-cell number at the time of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
J M Taylor1, J P Sy, B Visscher
1Department of Biostatistics, University of California, Los Angeles.
In this article, the authors adapt and extend the methodology of Phillips (Phillips et al. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 1992;5:148-52) to estimate the distribution of CD4+ T-cell number at the time of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and to estimate the correlation between CD4+ T-cell number at AIDS and CD4+ T-cell number prior to human immunodeficiency virus infection. Using data from the Los Angeles portion of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, the authors find that the median CD4+ T-cell count at the time of AIDS is 67 cells/mm3 with a 95% confidence interval of 58-84. The 5th and 95th percentiles of the distribution are 8 and 284, respectively. The authors estimate the correlation between the CD4+ T-cell number at the time of AIDS and the CD4+ T-cell number prior to human immunodeficiency virus infection to be 0.71 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.21-0.94. This very high correlation is suggestive of biologic hypotheses concerning possible control of the circulating CD4+ T-cell number. The high correlation can also be useful in determining when to start prophylactic treatment.
In this article, the authors adapt and extend the methodology of Phillips (Phillips et al. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 1992;5:148-52) to estimate the distribution of CD4+ T-cell number at the time of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and to estimate the correlation between CD4+ T-cell number at AIDS and CD4+ T-cell number prior to human immunodeficiency virus infection. Using data from the Los Angeles portion of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, the authors find that the median CD4+ T-cell count at the time of AIDS is 67 cells/mm3 with a 95% confidence interval of 58-84. The 5th and 95th percentiles of the distribution are 8 and 284, respectively. The authors estimate the correlation between the CD4+ T-cell number at the time of AIDS and the CD4+ T-cell number prior to human immunodeficiency virus infection to be 0.71 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.21-0.94. This very high correlation is suggestive of biologic hypotheses concerning possible control of the circulating CD4+ T-cell number. The high correlation can also be useful in determining when to start prophylactic treatment.